Police investigating Johnny G’s fire in Exchange as arson

A fire that tore through a popular Exchange District restaurant last week is being investigated as an arson, city police said Monday.

“I can confirm the recent fire at Johnny G’s is being investigated as an arson by the major crimes unit,” Winnipeg Police Service Const. Pat Saydak said in an email. “These are complicated investigations that take time and rely on collaboration between the WPS and WFPS fire investigators.”

The blaze at the longstanding restaurant in a historic building at 177 McDermot Ave. broke out early Wednesday morning.

“Things are not looking well at all,” John Giannakis, owner of Johnny G’s restaurant, told the Free Press after the fire was under control.

Giannakis, who has operated the McDermot location since 1996, was not available for comment Monday. Around 2014, he converted the basement into a classic Irish pub.

Wee Johnny’s went on to become a staple in Winnipeg’s comedy scene in 2019, though it stopped hosting open-mic comedy nights two weeks ago. It remains a popular karaoke spot.

Several Winnipeg restaurants have been hit by arson this year, including Thida’s Thai Restaurant and Mae Sunee Thai Cuisine, which police believe were targeted attacks.

Commonwealth Kitchen & Bar was also set ablaze, though owner Nikola Maharajh said it appeared to be a random act. The fire at the 456 Main St. restaurant was quickly extinguished, but the sprinkler system caused extensive flooding, leaving several centimetres of water in the basement.

Maharajh said surveillance footage showed a man using a brick or cinder block to smash three windows before throwing something inside that ignited a booth.

“From what we know, it was just a random homeless individual,” he said Monday. “They had left a shopping cart and belongings behind when the fire started.”

If there’s a connection, police haven’t established one yet.

”It is too early in the investigation to make any nexus to the fires at Thida’s, Mae Sunee and the Commonwealth,” Saydak said.

Maharajh expects his restaurant will remain closed for up to six months, depending on insurance and rebuilding. He opened Commonwealth Kitchen & Bar in 2024 in the former Bank of Toronto building, a three-storey heritage site built between 1905 and 1907, according to the Manitoba Historical Society.

On Monday, Maharajh sympathized with Giannakis.

“I heard about that fire,” he said. “Crazy how many have happened. So unfortunate.”

scott.billeck@freepress.mb.ca